clickettuk

Ahh but Canberra is cr@p everybody knows that. Where are you really?

If you ever lived in Canberra you'd know it's a great place.

Great post - Canberra is truly amazing

After nearly two years going through the visa process, thanks to multiple changes from DIAC along the way, our visas were granted. The very same day we booked one-way flights for four weeks time, handed in our notice at work and booked our leaving party venue. Those four weeks were bliss but emotional.

BUT, less than 24 hours before our flight - that's when everything went wrong. The start of our Australian adventure was going to be the worst imaginable. We received a phone call saying my partner's brother, at the age of 40, was on life support with a suspected brain haemorrhage. A few hours later he had died. It was the worst few hours possible. Speaking to his mother and father they said we should still get on the plane as it's what his brother would have wanted. It was the hardest decision ever to leave, but we did. The 24 hour flight was an opportunity to reflect on what had happened and we had some emotional moments during the trip. We found our feet quickly in Australia which was terrific but then disaster struck again six months later. We received a call saying my partner's father had died. This was the last of our awful bad luck.

Now for the good stuff. We're three months away from being able to apply for citizenship. We love Canberra. We have awesome friends and jobs. The lifestyle is amazing and we wouldn't change anything. Australia really does offer a great life. It takes some work at first, but once you're settled it's truly awesome.

It really can be AWESOME, if we can do it after everything we went through then anyone can. Just be prepared to work for it in the beginning.

:wink: